time.”
“ What was that Saturday
like?” Manny asked.
“ We woke up, made love...
We were trying for a baby. We had so much fun raising the girls, we
wanted a few of our own,” Lo said. “I wasn’t competing this year in
hopes that we’d get pregnant. We went for a run, then I went to the
gym to see a couple of clients; he went to work. I was at the gym
when I got the call… I think it was a reporter.”
“ Which gym?”
“ Uh, Saturday?” Lo asked.
“Saturday was boxing day, so I’d have been at Armadillo’s on Camp
Bowie. But if you’re asking me if I remember, I don’t. I remember
answering the phone. I remember getting there before they loaded
him into the ambulance. I remember holding his hand. I remember him
breathing funny and… and… then… he was gone.”
Lo took a deep breath. She held it then let
it go.
“ What do you remember
next?”
“ Calling the girls. Getting
the funeral together – the caterer, flowers, undertaker, cars… The
phone never stopped ringing. Wandering around the house at night
with Don’s pillow in my arms…”
“ So anyone could have done
anything that week?” Manny asked.
Lo’s head jerked to look at him. She looked
puzzled for a moment and then nodded.
“ There were a couple of
days when people were everywhere,” Lo said. “Our housekeeper
managed most of the chaos, but she’s almost eighty. And she was a
mess herself. She was one of Don’s nannies when he was a kid. God,
we were all just destroyed by Don’s… death.”
“ Where is she
now?”
“ I don’t know,” Lo said.
“Yazmin said she’d tell me when I was feeling better, but that
everyone was good, healthy. ‘Mr. Downs took care of us.’ That’s
what Yazmin said.”
“ In his will?”
“ He had a living trust,
Manny,” Lo said. “But we didn’t get to any of that before burying
him and I’ve been… ill since then.”
“ I called Don’s lawyer
every day last week,” Lisa said. “None of us can figure out why the
house was foreclosed, or the money held. Do you know?”
“ Feds,” Manny said. “That’s
all I have. The Feds. We lifted some prints from the house. When
our CSU put them through the system, they came up as
Feds.”
“ Feds?” Lo asked. “That
doesn’t make any sense.”
“ That’s what I say,” Manny
said. “The Fire Inspector told me you said: ‘work at work, home at
home,’ but do you know anything about his law practice?”
“ Sure,” Lo said. “We talked
about every case, everything. He just didn’t work at home. That’s
what I meant.”
“ Did he take any cases that
might have caused… all this?”
“ Never,” Lo said. “Don
liked working with people, helping people live better lives. He did
civil work for people – wills, estates, business stuff, a few
environmental cases – stuff like that. He did a bunch of pro-bono
work for people after Katrina. He had a fondness for the Gypsies,
um, the Romani? I think that’s what they like to be called. He used
to say they were the most shit-on people in the world.”
“ He did well?”
“ Really well,” Lo said. “He
gave a lot of work to his partners and associates. Did you talk to
his secretary, Marilyn?”
“ Can’t find her,” Manny
said.
“ She must have come to the
funeral,” Lo looked at Lisa. “Did you see Marilyn at the
funeral?”
“ I was kind of a wreck
too,” Lisa said.
“ Did you try her house?” Lo
asked.
Manny nodded.
“ We have this little house
in Lake Worth,” Lo said. “I never went there because I’m afraid of
the Goat Man.”
Manny laughed.
“ Don’t laugh,” Lo said. “My
Dad was there that night… You know, when everyone saw him. Took a
picture of the Goat Man.”
“ July 9, 1969?” Manny
asked.
“ I’ve always been really
afraid of the Goat Man, so I never wanted to go to Lake Worth. Don
would go up for the day to fish or whatever. But we never spent a
night away from each other. So he’d come home. Anyway, Marilyn
“ What was that Saturday
like?” Manny asked.
“ We woke up, made love...
We were trying for a baby. We had so much fun raising the girls, we
wanted a few of our own,” Lo said. “I wasn’t competing this year in
hopes that we’d get pregnant. We went for a run, then I went to the
gym to see a couple of clients; he went to work. I was at the gym
when I got the call… I think it was a reporter.”
“ Which gym?”
“ Uh, Saturday?” Lo asked.
“Saturday was boxing day, so I’d have been at Armadillo’s on Camp
Bowie. But if you’re asking me if I remember, I don’t. I remember
answering the phone. I remember getting there before they loaded
him into the ambulance. I remember holding his hand. I remember him
breathing funny and… and… then… he was gone.”
Lo took a deep breath. She held it then let
it go.
“ What do you remember
next?”
“ Calling the girls. Getting
the funeral together – the caterer, flowers, undertaker, cars… The
phone never stopped ringing. Wandering around the house at night
with Don’s pillow in my arms…”
“ So anyone could have done
anything that week?” Manny asked.
Lo’s head jerked to look at him. She looked
puzzled for a moment and then nodded.
“ There were a couple of
days when people were everywhere,” Lo said. “Our housekeeper
managed most of the chaos, but she’s almost eighty. And she was a
mess herself. She was one of Don’s nannies when he was a kid. God,
we were all just destroyed by Don’s… death.”
“ Where is she
now?”
“ I don’t know,” Lo said.
“Yazmin said she’d tell me when I was feeling better, but that
everyone was good, healthy. ‘Mr. Downs took care of us.’ That’s
what Yazmin said.”
“ In his will?”
“ He had a living trust,
Manny,” Lo said. “But we didn’t get to any of that before burying
him and I’ve been… ill since then.”
“ I called Don’s lawyer
every day last week,” Lisa said. “None of us can figure out why the
house was foreclosed, or the money held. Do you know?”
“ Feds,” Manny said. “That’s
all I have. The Feds. We lifted some prints from the house. When
our CSU put them through the system, they came up as
Feds.”
“ Feds?” Lo asked. “That
doesn’t make any sense.”
“ That’s what I say,” Manny
said. “The Fire Inspector told me you said: ‘work at work, home at
home,’ but do you know anything about his law practice?”
“ Sure,” Lo said. “We talked
about every case, everything. He just didn’t work at home. That’s
what I meant.”
“ Did he take any cases that
might have caused… all this?”
“ Never,” Lo said. “Don
liked working with people, helping people live better lives. He did
civil work for people – wills, estates, business stuff, a few
environmental cases – stuff like that. He did a bunch of pro-bono
work for people after Katrina. He had a fondness for the Gypsies,
um, the Romani? I think that’s what they like to be called. He used
to say they were the most shit-on people in the world.”
“ He did well?”
“ Really well,” Lo said. “He
gave a lot of work to his partners and associates. Did you talk to
his secretary, Marilyn?”
“ Can’t find her,” Manny
said.
“ She must have come to the
funeral,” Lo looked at Lisa. “Did you see Marilyn at the
funeral?”
“ I was kind of a wreck
too,” Lisa said.
“ Did you try her house?” Lo
asked.
Manny nodded.
“ We have this little house
in Lake Worth,” Lo said. “I never went there because I’m afraid of
the Goat Man.”
Manny laughed.
“ Don’t laugh,” Lo said. “My
Dad was there that night… You know, when everyone saw him. Took a
picture of the Goat Man.”
“ July 9, 1969?” Manny
asked.
“ I’ve always been really
afraid of the Goat Man, so I never wanted to go to Lake Worth. Don
would go up for the day to fish or whatever. But we never spent a
night away from each other. So he’d come home. Anyway, Marilyn
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